To Love a Prince
by Jaretha
Summary: As Utena lies dying from Anthy's fatal sword, a mysterious figure saves Utena! What will happen when Akio wants a new Rose Bride, who will protect Utena now? NO LONGER UPDATED.
1. Chapter One

~~This fic takes place at the very end of the T.V. series. Akio has used Utena to try and free the Power of Dios, but has failed. She lies dying from the sword wound given to her by Anthy, watching the casket that held Anthy fall into darkness. Utena's hand is stretched out to grab Anthy's hand, but it slips through her fingers.~~  
  
~~I do not own Utena!~~  
  
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Utena watched, her eyes full of tears, as the rose casket fell down into darkness. She could still hear Anthy's screams echoing in her ears, and she could feel her heart breaking into a million pieces. Above her, the swords hammered towards her, shoving each other out of the way in their eagerness to spill her blood. Utena closed her eyes tightly as she awaited the pain, knowing that nothing could hurt as much as the sword that Anthy had thrust into her back.  
  
"Utena. . ." Akio said softly, standing over her.  
  
She turned painfully on her side, her hands slipping on the blood that was already coating the hard stone walkway. He was smiling kindly at her, this Rose Prince, and the shattered Sword of Dios was held loosely in his large hand. She flinched away from him as he knelt down beside her, and she could see the swords behind his shoulder, getting ever closer. They seemed to be moving slower now, but they were still coming.  
  
Akio's knuckles brushed her scraped cheek affectionately with the back of his knuckles. She managed a fierce glare at him as he straightened. He chuckled darkly at her and dropped the Sword of Dios beside her, where it clattered and nearly fell over the edge. Her hand flew out almost of its own volition and grabbed the shattered hilt before it followed Anthy down into the darkness. She pulled the once great weapon towards her, and tried to make her muscles work enough to kill Akio.  
  
He laughed down at her, his eyes flashing. His voice, however, was harsh and cold, lashing out at her with the chill of a winter blizzard. "You wanted to save the little Princess, Utena Tenjou, but you cannot even save yourself from this final fate. You are not prince."  
  
Her hand, still clenched around the hilt of the Sword of Dios, fell back to the ground as Akio walked away towards the elevator. She could see his dark lavender hair shining in the pale torchlight of the arena, but he never turned back to her. He disappeared down the elevator, and Utena could see the swords coming faster now. She could see the glints of light reflecting off of the rows of steel, and she felt the first risings of fear well up in her. She didn't want to die, but she had nothing left to live for. Her parents were dead, and Anthy too. Wakaba would grieve for a moment, then move on to a better life, away from Utena. She closed her eyes again, and resigned herself to her death, to await the reunion with her parents.  
  
Fate, however, had other plans. She could hear small sounds now, sounds of something running up the stairs. Footsteps? But no one could enter here but duelists! Her vision began to blur, and she could barely make out a tall figure dressed all in white running towards her. He carried a large sword, and he skidded to a stop beside her, brandishing the sword at the oncoming blades.  
  
His strong legs straddled hers as she was rolled onto her back. He stood over her, facing the oncoming rush of blades as they barreled down towards him. The man held his sword out in front of him in a vertical line, almost as if in a kendo stance. He knelt now, not putting any weight on her, but covering her entire body with his. She stared up the long line of his back and gasped as he raised the sword over his head. The huge sword fell in a sharp arc as the swords reached him. They broke upon his sword as water on rocks, rushing to each side of him. Not a single blade hurt him, nor cut into Utena's body. They all were redirected to either side of them, and then fell into the darkness below. Utena could hear the man screaming in rage as the swords tried to push him back, but he stayed still, forcing them back with his strength. Finally, the last blade spun into the darkness, and the man lowered the huge sword, he turned to smile at Utena, brushing his long red hair out of his face.  
  
Utena's eyes could barely focus on Touga's face as he knelt down beside her and kissed her bruised face. She barely felt his powerful arms as he lifted her away from the rock, leaving his huge sword to rest against the stone walkway that would have been Utena's grave.  
  
"Now the true battle begins, my love," he whispered to her just before she blacked out from the blood loss and pain. "Now it finally begins."  
  
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~~What do you think? This is my first Utena fic, so I need some feedback! Review if you can! Flamers out simply to bash the work with no explanation will be laughed at!! 


	2. Chapter Two

~~I hate having writer's block. But, here's the next chapter!  
  
~~I do not own Utena  
  
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Touga carried the unresponsive Utena back to his mansion in his arms, knowing that to move her too much would only worsen her condition. She didn't move, or speak, or hardly breathe the entire way, and Touga grew more and more fearful with every step that she had indeed been killed.  
  
But as he stepped over the threshold of the mansion, she began to breathe with deep, even breaths. He smiled softly and carried her up to his own bed, laying her gently on the silk covers. Her red blood immediately began to soak into the sheets, and he hurried outside to grab his cell phone to call for medical attention.  
  
He was surprised to see that his other guest was already on the phone, calling the local medical chapter to come quickly. The man turned and smiled at Touga softly before beginning to walk away towards Utena's room.  
  
"How did you know?" Touga called after him. "How did you know that your sword would stop the swords?"  
  
The stranger turned and looked Touga straight in the eye. "Because only a true prince can save another prince," he answered before disappearing into the room.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Utena awakened a few days later to the smell of fresh coffee being brewed. She groaned and tried to sit up, but a heavy hand restrained her. In anger she tried to open her eyes to glare at the person, but the bright lights of the lamps in her room proved too fierce for her eyes. She let out a soft cry of pain, turning her head away from the light.  
  
"Calm down, Miss Tenjou," a soft voice beside her said. "You've been unconscious for five days."  
  
"M-Miki?" she croaked, her throat dry and cracking. "The lights. . ."  
  
The red burning behind her eyelids dimmed quickly, and her dark lashes fluttered open slowly. Miki Kaoru was standing beside her bed, his usually immaculate uniform rumpled from sitting too long. He smiled at her, gripping her hand tightly. "I'm so glad you're awake!" he said, squeezing her hand. "We were all so worried about you!"  
  
He ran to the door before she could reply, calling out, "She's awake! She's awake!"  
  
Before she could even blink, Utena was surrounded by people all gripping her hands or hugging her gently. Everyone was talking at once. Juri gripped her hand tightly, clearly claiming that hand as her own and not letting anyone else touch it. Kozue set a box of chocolates on the bed stand and smiled at Utena. Even Saionji was there, pumping her other hand and then moving aside for Touga to come through and hug her gently.  
  
When the overall shock of seeing everyone wore off, she managed to get a few words out. "What happened?"  
  
Everyone died down almost instantly as everyone looked to Touga. He sighed and stepped forward, gripping her hand again.  
  
"You won, Utena," he began softly as everyone settled in for the story that they had already heard many times. "Himemiya is free from her torment, and has already left the school to search for her destiny. Akio is still chairman, for he escaped the destruction of the Dueling Arena, but he thinks that you are dead. You are not even registered as a student anymore. I was waiting outside the Arena with Saionji when all this was happening, and we both knew that you would win. However, someone came to us and handed me a sword, saying that you were in grave danger. He then ordered me to go inside and save you, using his sword."  
  
"Someone else?" she asked. "Who? No one else knew about the duels, or even about me except the people in this school. If there was another duelist, we would know about him, wouldn't we?"  
  
Touga shook his head. "We thought the same thing. But then he said something to us that we could not ignore, and knew that he was telling the truth."  
  
"What did he say?"  
  
Saionji spoke up softly from his place against the far wall, by the window. "He said that your Prince was false, and that he would kill you."  
  
"My Prince?" she repeated, staring at the vice-president. "No one but the duelists knew about my Prince. And Wakaba, of course."  
  
Touga shrugged. "I'm not sure how he knew, but he told me that I had to save you. The sword he gave me was able to fend off the Swords of Hatred that were coming for your blood, Utena. It broke the swords, and made them lose their power, allowing me to get you out of there."  
  
"Only a sword made out of someone's pure heart, like the Sword of Dios, could stop those swords, Utena. Only your sword could stop them, or someone who was given the power like you were as a child."  
  
Utena stared at him. "Another person like me, with the same strength?"  
  
Touga nodded. "That is what we believe."  
  
"But who could have such a power that is not a Duelist?"  
  
"The only person who can receive the power to stop the swords is someone who was gifted by you, Utena," a soft masculine voice from the doorway said.  
  
The entire room turned to look at the young man in the doorway. His hair slightly resembled Miki's, soft and tangled, but cropped short and close to his head. He stood just a little taller than Touga, and his uniform was unfamiliar to everyone except Utena. Her eyes widened and she sat up, heedless of the pain in her stomach as she stared in shock at the man.  
  
"Kaido," she whispered softly.  
  
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~~For those that have read the manga, you know who Kaido is. If you have not read them, don't worry, the next chapter will explain who he is. He is not an original character created by me; he was created by the author of the original Utena story.  
  
~~Next time, on "To Love a Prince": One who holds the same power of heart? Utena's lost love. 


	3. Chapter Three

~~I do not own Utena or any of the subsequent characters.  
  
~~*****************************************************************~~  
  
Utena stared at the man in the doorway, unable to even rub her eyes to see if she were dreaming. He stood, framed in the light of the hallway, his shaggy dark hair grown longer now, in two years. It hung to his shoulders, in a straight mess of tangles, which were strangely flattering to him. Utena's eyes flew over his face, taking in the familiar angles of his chin, his sharp nose, and the high, sculpted cheekbones. She settled her startled gaze on his eyes, which were clearly focused on hers.  
  
"Your glasses. . ." she murmured as he moved further into the room.  
  
"I got contact lenses six months ago," he answered, stopping beside her bed.  
  
Miki moved quickly away from the bed to avoid touching the quiet man. Kaido basically ignored the younger man, his eyes on Utena's damaged form. He sat on the edge of her bed, brushing a lock of hair out of her face and brushing her cheek with his knuckle. He didn't see the fierce look that Touga shot him at the touch, nor the startled reactions of Juri, Saionji, and Miki when he bend and kissed her forehead gently.  
  
Utena closed her eyes and smiled at the touch, snuggling down into her pillow. "Kaido?" she asked sleepily, "Are you real?"  
  
Kaido smiled softly at her as he stood again. "As real as the ring on your finger, Utena."  
  
Utena smiled again, her breathing already evening out and deepening. Touga moved to the door and pushed it open, signaling at everyone was to leave the injured girl alone. One by one, the student council members filed out, casting long looks at the girl on the bed before heading towards the kitchen. Touga stood at the door, watching Utena and this stranger, until he finally cleared his throat.  
  
Kaido looked up, torn from his observation of Utena, and had the good grace to flush. He followed Touga meekly out into the hallway, and then waited as the President closed the door softly, not seeing the kiss he blew to Utena's sleeping face.  
  
Touga turned a moment later, and walked right past Kaido, saying as he moved, "You are required in the kitchen. I think we all deserve to know who you are and what you are doing here."  
  
Kaido nodded and followed the older man down the hallway and into the large kitchen, where the assembled Student Council was making coffee and tea. Saionji leaned against the far counter, his legs crossed at the ankles, sipping from a rose coffee mug. Juri stood at the stove, turning down the hot water for cocoa. She turned and looked hard at Kaido as he entered, her golden eyes revealing nothing and everything at once. Miki stood beside her, sipping tea from one of Himemiya's rose tea cups. His eyes glowed with his repressed anger and loathing of this man who was so close to Utena.  
  
Kaido moved to the middle of the room, hands loosely at his side. He fixed each Council member with a hard glare, stopping for a breath longer on Touga, who had moved to stand beside Saionji.  
  
"My name is Kaido, and I used to go to school with Utena," he began softly. "Back in Houou, before Utena transferred to this school, we were friends. . . best friends. We practically grew up together after Utena's parents died. I was the one who figured out the letters that End of the World sent her; and I sent her to this place."  
  
Touga's face had gone ashen.  
  
"I'm sure," Kaido continued, his eyes piercing into the Student Council President, "that End of the World would have summoned her here another way, but for the time being I suppose I sufficed."  
  
Miki was nodding. "So you were one of her friends. Forgive me, but that does not seem unique enough to warrant you knowing everything about End of the World."  
  
Kaido smiled a little to himself as his gaze transferred over to the underclassman. "That is true. The only reason I know at all is that I too, like Utena, have the Power to Revolutionize the World."  
  
Juri dropped her cocoa mug onto the floor and it shattered with a resounding crash! As she knelt to pick up the pieces, she glared at Kaido. "That's a lie! You've never participated in the duels! You can't hold that Power! Only Tenjou does!"  
  
Kaido was already shaking his head. "No. Utena has always held that power because Mr. Lickylick, whom I now know to be Dios, gave it to her when she was very young. He singled her out, made her powerful enough to defeat all of you so that she would eventually free him. However, I am a wildcard factor that no one counted on."  
  
His voice rose ever so slightly as he touched his chest, right over his heart. "Utena GAVE me the same power before she left my side forever. She licked away my tears of sorrow at losing her and told me that I now had the same power that Mr. Lickylick had given her. We have the same power in our veins! I felt her all the way back in Houou, when she was crying about the battles she had to face. I FELT her surge of adrenaline when she saw Dios coming for her. I FELT her heart breaking when Himemiya and her brother betrayed her. NONE of you understand her at all! Only I do, because I SHARED EVERY MOMENT WITH HER!"  
  
Kaido was breathing very hard at this point, and he slumped back against the counter slightly. "I felt her pain, and knew that something was going to happen soon after she started seeing Akio. So I came because I knew she needed me. That she WOULD need me, because I am the only one who understands her powers."  
  
He stared up at the Student Council, his eyes gone slightly wild. They were enraptured by his story, their eyes never leaving his face. "This sharing of power gives me a link with Utena that even I can't understand. I can somehow. . . feel whatever she's feeling. I know what she knows, no matter what it is. I was WITH her when she lost to Touga, and later when she beat him. I was WITH her when she beat Mikage. I was WITH her when she was stabbed by Himemiya, and I was even WITH her when she saved Himemiya from her long, long curse. And I know some things she does not know."  
  
"What do you know?" Saionji asked sullenly, sipping his coffee.  
  
"I know what Akio is planning to do now that he has lost power over his sister."  
  
The entire Council gasped at that. "What are you talking about?!" Miki cried. "Is he going to do something awful?"  
  
Juri's eyes narrowed. "Explain how you know something that Tenjou doesn't know."  
  
Kaido nods as he continues. "Utena shares a link with Himemiya through her magic and her bond to her brother that allows her to hear what Himemiya is thinking or feeling sometimes. It mostly manifests in dreams, for both of us. While Utena is linked to Himemiya, I am linked to Akio."  
  
He closes his eyes tightly against a nightmare only he could see. "I dreamed a few days ago about Utena being in a glass coffin, in a lovely pink dress. A crown was upon her head, and she was sleeping. Akio bent and kissed her, and her hair turned bright red as tears of blood ran down her cheeks. She screamed. . . and I screamed too, as I woke up. I knew what would happen if that dream were to come true."  
  
"What will happen?" Touga whispered.  
  
Kaido locked eyes with him, fresh tears springing forth. "Akio will make her his new Rose Bride."  
  
~~*****************************************************************~~  
  
~~Ok, so I took forever with an update. Sorry everybody!  
  
~~To explain what Kaido is talking about, with transferring power to him, see Utena manga Volume 1. If you don't want to, then read the next passage.  
  
~~Kaido and Utena used to go to school together, and Utena received yearly messages from an anonymous writer, mostly saying things like "Soon we will meet" and things like that. Kaido finally pieced together the puzzle and informed Utena that this person went to Ohtori Academy, and Utena decided to transfer there instead of move to Amsterdam with her aunt. Kaido was devastated that she was leaving, because they had a quasi-romantic affection for each other. However, Kaido felt it deeper, and he cried when Utena told him she was leaving. Utena then licked his tears away and said, "THERE! Now you have the same strength Mr. Lickylick gave to me!" This is what I based this entire plotline on. 


	4. Farewell

I regret to inform all the fans of this story that I shall no longer be updating it. Please forgive me.  
  
My reasons are simple. I hate this story the way it is because I did something terrible to the Utena series. I tried to combine the anime and manga plotlines, and it just doesn't work. Please forgive me for almost killing off my love for Utena. I have already started the new version of this story, and hopefully it will be better. Please continue to read this story under its new version "A Prince to Save a Prince". It will be better, I promise. Again, please please forgive me.  
  
*bows* 


End file.
